"Civil society" refers to institutional political actors outside of government and private enterprise, typically nonprofit advocacy organizations and foundations. The term "non-governmental organization," or NGO, is closely related.

Civil society organizations have come to play an important role in ensuring the accountability of governments, countering the power of corporations, and contributing to democratic governance.

For most of today’s important issues – war and peace, economic growth and equity, ecological sustainability, race and gender equality, and many others – there are dense networks of civil society institutions. For the issues surrounding human biotechnologies, a civil society infrastructure is just beginning to emerge.

Should We Rewrite the Human Genome?by Alex Harding, XconomyNovember 28th, 2016Critics worry that a synthetic human genome could be used in unethical ways. Unlike for clinical trials, there is no regulatory body for basic science research.

Review of Blame: A Novelby Abby Lippman, Biopolitical Times guest contributorNovember 28th, 2016Blame is especially important for those unfamiliar with the range of ethical, social, legal, and political issues raised by applications of what is learned in a lab. While a work of fiction, it is definitely not science-fiction

Germany's sperm bank plans leakedby Ben Knight, Deutsche WelleNovember 3rd, 2016The German government is making good on its promise to the children of sperm donors by setting up a central database to make it easier for them to find their biological fathers.

Should young women sell their eggs?by Donna de la Cruz, The New York TimesOctober 20th, 2016The number of eggs used for IVF procedures is increasing, but few studies have been done on the long-term impact egg retrieval has on a woman’s fertility and overall health.

World Bioethics Day: Human Dignity and Human Rightsby Leah Lowthorp, Biopolitical TimesOctober 19th, 2016October 19 marks the first such international event sponsored by the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics. This year's theme of Human Dignity and Human Rights will be celebrated in 55 countries worldwide.

Peru Fails to Deliver for Indigenous Womenby Shena Cavallo, openDemocracySeptember 12th, 2016Some 300,000 poor rural indigenous people were forcibly sterilized according to state "quotas," but a public prosecutor has decided not to pursue charges of "crimes against humanity."

The Perils of Planned Extinctionsby Claire Hope Cummings, Project SyndicateSeptember 6th, 2016Instead of taking time to fully consider the ethical, ecological, and social issues of gene-drive technology, many are aggressively promoting its use in conservation.

Forgotten Stories of the Eugenic Age #5: Creating Super-Peopleby Natalie Oveyssi, Biopolitical TimesMay 23rd, 2016Advocates of eugenics in the early twentieth century thought that careful mating would produce smarter, stronger, better people. What would these people look like? How would they behave? What kind of society would they form? Could making a better world be so simple?

In science, follow the money – if you canby Paul D. Thacker & Curt Furberg, The Los Angeles TimesMay 12th, 2016Disclosure and restrictions do not harm academic freedom. These policies still allow scientists to pursue research, while ensuring that public health is not put at risk in service of corporate profit.

Should We Synthesize A Human Genome?by Drew Endy and Laurie Zoloth, DSpace@MITMay 10th, 2016Human genome synthesis could redefine what now joins all of humanity together as a species. Discussions should not take place without open and advance consideration of whether and under what circumstances it is morally right to proceed.

I Can't Breatheby Anne Fausto-Sterling, Boston ReviewMarch 21st, 2016The belief in racial essentialism means that the medical curriculum pays scant attention to the means by which the social experience of race produces disease.

Cryonics Taken Apartby Pete ShanksMarch 10th, 2016Corey Pein has written an exposé of Alcor, the cryonics company he describes as "technophilic necromancers."

My Genes, Myself?by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical Times guest contributorMarch 8th, 2016We have become accustomed to ascribing agency to individual genes. But every now and then a story comes along that reminds us just how foolish we are.

The Troubling Rise of Rapid DNA Testingby Ava Kofman, New RepublicFebruary 24th, 2016Your DNA can now be read in less time than it would take to wait at a typical DMV. New portable rapid DNA devices may represent a giant leap backward for civil liberties.

We need to talk about egg freezingby Eva Wiseman, The GuardianFebruary 7th, 2016It’s expensive, frustrating and can be traumatic. As more and more women make the choice to freeze their eggs, do they know exactly what they’re getting into?

Taking race out of human geneticsby Michael Yudell, Dorothy Roberts, Rob DeSalle & Sarah Tishkoff, ScienceFebruary 5th, 2016"We believe the use of biological concepts of race in human genetic research—so disputed and so mired in confusion—is problematic at best and harmful at worst. It is time for biologists to find a better way."

End ‘stem cell tourism,’ experts urgeby Michael Cook, BioEdgeNovember 14th, 2015Stem cell scientists appear to have oversold their product. Now patients, tired of waiting for the cures they were promised, are seeking unproven stem cell-based treatments that are causing more harm than good.

Indigenous peoples must benefit from scienceby Dyna Rochmyaningsih, Nature NewsOctober 20th, 2015The triple helix of science, the private sector, and government have driven the world’s economy since the Industrial Revolution, but to drive sustainable development, science must empower rural communities — not just serve industry and governments.

American Surrogate Death: NOT the Firstby Mirah Riben, HuffPost BlogOctober 15th, 2015Brooke Lee Brown's death "underscores the ethical problem with asking women to serve as surrogates for non-medical reasons." Is death simply an occupational hazard in the surrogacy industry?

The CRISPR Germline Debate: Closed to the Public?by Elliot Hosman, Biopolitical TimesOctober 15th, 2015Recent CRISPR media coverage focuses on hype rather than engaging the ethical and social implications of the groundbreaking technology—even as many call for public inclusion in the genome editing debate.

After Asilomarby Editorial, Nature NewsOctober 14th, 2015Scientist-led conferences are no longer the best way to resolve debates on controversial research, and scientists who wish to self-regulate ignore public outcry at their peril.

Rise of the Citizen Scientistby Editorial, NatureAugust 18th, 2015From the oceans to the soil, technology is changing the part that amateurs can play in research. But this greater involvement raises concerns that must be addressed.

Building the Face of a Criminal From DNABBCJune 18th, 2015The face of a killer constructed from DNA left at the scene of a crime: it sounds like science fiction. But revealing the face of a criminal based on their genes may be closer than we think.

Is DNA the Next Frontier in Privacy?by Nikhil Swaminathan, Aljazeera AmericaMay 11th, 2015The president has called for a million people to volunteer their DNA sequences, health records and sensor tracking data, but the government is mum on how it will protect their privacy.

Racial Health Disparities: It’s Inequality, Not Genesby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesApril 23rd, 2015A review of genomic research on racial health disparities in heart disease finds it has made “little or no contribution to our understanding.” A new article in The Atlantic puts that in social, political, and historical context.

California and your DNA: Is it a healthy relationship? by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesMarch 16th, 2015While every state across the country takes part in newborn screening, each state differs in how it handles the blood cards and the genetic information they hold. In California, those cards are stored indefinitely and potentially rented out for a broad array of uses.

State has DNA Databases from Cradle to Jailby Jeremy B. White, The Sacramento BeeMarch 4th, 2015Soon after every baby in California is born, a hospital worker extracts and logs its genetic information. It will be tested for diseases and then stashed permanently in a warehouse containing a generation of Californians’ DNA.

A primer on DNA forensicsby Blair Crawford, Ottawa CitizenFebruary 18th, 2015Improved technology and automation means DNA profiles can now be done in a matter of days and, in the future, the wait could be reduced to just hours. But DNA evidence is hardly infallible.

Perils of Artificial Intelligenceby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesJanuary 22nd, 2015The Future of Life Institute is calling for "research on how to make AI systems robust and beneficial," on the heels of several warnings about potential dire dangers.

Two Neuroscientists Who Get It Rightby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesJanuary 7th, 2015Two UC San Diego neuroscientists have created a “Roadmap to a New Neuroscience.” It is a status-quo-shifting kind of amazing.

Sperm Donor, Life Partnerby Alana Semuels, The AtlanticDecember 8th, 2014Just because women can create and raise a baby alone doesn't mean they want to. An increasing number of women and lesbian couples are seeking an involved father for a donor.

Breaking from our Eugenic Pastby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesNovember 13th, 2014As the victims of North Carolina's eugenics program finally receive compensation, we should not celebrate "the new eugenics" as some have argued, but learn carefully from this history.

There May Be No Such Thing As A 'Longevity Gene'by Will Dunham, ReutersNovember 12th, 2014The genomes of 17 people ages 110 to 116 were sequenced to try to determine whether they possess unique genetic traits. The study did not identify a common genetic characteristic in them.

FIXED: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancementby Jonathan Chernoguz, Biopolitical TimesNovember 12th, 2014The documentary produced and directed by Regan Brashear is receiving a new round of well-deserved positive attention around the world.

Could Genomics Revive The Eugenics Movement?by Meredith Salisbury, ForbesNovember 8th, 2014There was a time when people in America were sterilized, sometimes unwittingly, by activists aiming to create a healthier, “better” population. As the progress of genomics accelerates, we need to remember the lessons of the past.

‘Haunted Files': The Dark Side of Progressivismby Naomi Schaefer Riley, New York PostNovember 4th, 2014With funding from the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation, New York's Eugenics Records Office had the financial backing of the most important and “forward thinking” folks of the time.

Technology and Inequalityby David Rotman, MIT Technology ReviewOctober 21st, 2014Profound wealth disparities in Silicon Valley highlight the "new world order" in which technological development exacerbates inequality instead of diminishing it.

Eugenics: The Academy's Complicityby Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman, Times Higher EducationOctober 9th, 2014The University of London will face up to its complicity in constructing unjust racial hierarchy, 110 years to the day that the university legitimised Francis Galton's research on eugenics.

Reproducing Raceby Dov Fox, The Huffington PostOctober 6th, 2014It is troubling for donor services to accentuate race in ways that invite parents to exclude wholesale from their consideration all donors of a particular race.

An End to Sterilization Abuses in California Prisonsby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesSeptember 26th, 2014The signing of SB 1135 into California law by Gov. Jerry Brown is an important victory in the fight for the remembrance of our state's eugenic history and its ongoing implications.

Tuskegee, Todayby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesAugust 7th, 2014Last week marked the 42nd anniversary of the Tuskegee syphilis study and many people took the opportunity to examine its relevance to the treatment of human research subjects today.

Banks of Blood and Spermby Rebecca J. Rosen, The AtlanticJuly 31st, 2014Banking on the Body investigates how the idea of a "bank" shapes the way we think about storing and distributing blood, sperm, and breast milk.

California Set to Prohibit Sterilization of Prisonersby Jonathan Chernoguz, Biopolitical TimesJuly 24th, 2014With the unanimous approval of Senate Bill 1135 in Sacramento last month, the victims of recent unauthorized sterilizations in California prisons, and their advocates, seem likely to win this important victory.

Making Sense of the BRAINby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesJuly 24th, 2014As criticisms of the brain projects on both sides of the Atlantic ramp up, what lessons can be learned from the successes and failures of the Human Genome Project?

The Perfect 46: A “Science Factual” Film about our Near Futureby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesJuly 10th, 2014A new science fiction film called “a sort of prequel to Gattaca” highlights the rise and fall of a genetic startup that analyzes people’s genomes to assess their ability to produce disease-free children.

One Can Always Say ‘No’by Xavier Symons, BioEdgeMay 23rd, 2014An important question in contemporary bioethics concerns the role of genetic and neurobiological determinism in crime. What role do genes and the wiring of one’s brain play in criminal action?

The Genes Made Us Do Itby Jonathan Marks, In These TimesMay 12th, 2014A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History is a paranoid, anti-intellectual screed. According to author Nicholas Wade, scientists are misleading you about race in order to set their own egalitarian political agenda.

Transcendence: See it for its Cultural Relevance, Not its Plot Lineby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesMay 1st, 2014Transcendence won’t win you over with its dialogue or love scenes, but it’s a great springboard for pondering what quickly approaching developments in artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and regenerative medicine may actually mean for society.

When Science Doesn't Have all the Answersby Louise Kinross, BloomMarch 6th, 2014My son’s rare genetic deletion is on the list of disorders identified by microarray analysis of a fetus’s DNA. It makes me sad to think that the lives of children like my son are being targeted for termination. Is this a step forward?

Old Songs, New Tests, and Expensive Childrenby George Estreich, Biopolitical Times guest contributorFebruary 20th, 2014The CEO of AOL justified a restructuring of the company’s 401(K) plan by citing two "distressed babies." This tone-deaf insensitivity was answered by a disapproving choir, but it sadly resembles too many descriptions of the "cost" of people with disabilities.

On Race and Medicineby Keith Norris, The ScientistFebruary 1st, 2014While age and gender are strongly associated with biological differences that may have a significant impact on disease susceptibility and treatment response, the role of race/ethnicity is far less clear.